About Me
A Cajun girl in a kilt, that’s me. My dad was a full-blooded Cajun, but my mother was born to immigrants from Glasgow, Scotland, who came to the US for religious freedom and the hope of a better life, settling in my hometown of Port Sulphur, Louisiana. Upon marrying my father, however, my mother abandoned her Scottish heritage and adopted my father’s culture, cuisine, and customs. Since I see myself as a mix of both cultures, my husband gave me the nickname “a Cajun girl in a kilt.”
After spending twenty years in the legal field as a real estate paralegal and lease negotiator, I spent two glorious years as a trailing spouse in the heart of Europe, in the lovely country of Belgium. I spent most days volunteering at the international school my daughters were attending, mostly in the high school library. My days in that bustling school filled me with energy and inspired me to return to graduate school when we returned to the States to become a teacher.
For nearly 20 years, I taught middle school English and literature in the Archdiocese of Washington’s Catholic schools. While teaching writing to 7th and 8th graders, I began to write more myself, becoming a freelance writer while still teaching. I retired from teaching in 2024 and devoting more time to the things I love most: traveling with my husband, spending time with my adult daughters, reading, writing, tutoring, and cooking for my family and friends.
Whether you are here to read my personal essays and book reviews, check out my freelance pieces that have been published, or seek out tutoring services for your child, welcome! Drop me a note and let me know how I can help you!
Favorite Quote from a Favorite Author: “I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming that comes when you finish the life of the emotions and of personal relations; and suddenly you find—at the age of fifty, say—that a whole new life has opened before you, filled with things you can think about, study, or read about…. It is as if a fresh sap of ideas and thoughts was rising in you.” ~Agatha Christie, An Autobiography (1977)
Michelle Blanchard Ardillo 